Hostile workplaces are not new or strange in the modern employment industry. Sadly, despite the ugly effects of a hostile workplace on individuals and companies, people may sometimes treat it as a norm.
Besides making you unproductive, an unfriendly workplace can also result in legal battles, which are costly and bad for your corporate image. The key to dealing with such workplaces is identifying indicators that make the place hostile.
What Constitutes a Hostile Workplace?
Before attempting to solve the hostile workplace issue, you must know what makes a workplace hostile. A hostile workplace refers to any workplace that makes an employee(s) feel scared, intimidated or uncomfortable. A workplace can qualify as hostile to its employees as a result of the following signs:
1. Racial or Sexual Harassment
A work environment can quickly become hostile for supporting harassment based on an individual’s race or gender. Some of the most practical examples in these cases include vulgar comments or ridicule associated with one’s racial or sexual orientation. Such a workplace is unhealthy and can serve as a foundation for greater hostility in the future and eventually more severe effects.
2. Any Form of Discrimination
Discrimination of any type is a clear sign of a hostile workplace. When the hiring manager, for instance, rejects applicants of a given age, gender or religion, you should stay wary as it is a sign of an unhealthy environment. The bias against the given groups can foster hostility against those existing in the company. Discrimination is illegal in most countries.
3. Victimization or Ridiculing
Jokes and teases among friends and colleagues at the office are normal. However, jokes that go too far, leaving the victim embarrassed or frustrated, are unacceptable.
Some people may also go as far as setting up a social media profile to ridicule a colleague. Targeting someone for public humiliation, whether physically or online (cyberbullying), is a sign of an unhealthy workplace and requires adequate measures to save the victim and the organization.
4. The Bad Gut Feeling
It is normal for you and your colleagues to have a bad gut feeling regarding a poor workplace. Some of the signs you may feel when working in a bad work environment include misery, fear and intimidation.
When the management and supervisors keep sabotaging and slandering you and your coworkers, the job is not safe for you. Other signs you should be wary of include constant aggressiveness among supervisors, higher management, and threats.
To Sum Up
A hostile work environment is a broad subject that negatively affects the victim and the company. These effects include increased employee turnover, absenteeism, unproductivity and legal battles, among others.
If you fall victim to this bad culture, report to your supervisor, HR or higher management regarding the same. You can also get a lawyer if you have serious employment issues.
Since lawyers have the skills and experience required to handle workplace issues, they will help you get fair compensation for the consequences you suffer from the unhealthy work environment, including lost income, public embarrassment, emotional damage, and lost employment.
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